A new study has suggested that fermented foods could be the secret to weight loss and a trimmer waistline.
You’re probably aware that yoghurt, sauerkraut, and kimchi are packed with probiotics, also known as “good” or “friendly” bacteria. From yoghurt to pickled veggies, we consume live microbes in many of our daily meals.
Despite popular belief that these “good bacteria” are beneficial for our health, concrete evidence had been “lacking” before the study, according to the authors of a study published in the Journal of Nutrition in 2023.
The research was the “real-world” evidence suggesting that consuming more of these live bacteria could lead to benefits such as weight loss, reduced waist size, and better blood pressure.
Scientists argue that high levels of these microbes – found in fermented foods, raw vegetables, and fruits – not only form part of a healthy diet but could also offer previously unrecognised health benefits.
A study spearheaded by scientists from the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) analysed microbe levels in 9,000 different foods to see how they correlate with health indicators like weight and blood pressure.
The results revealed that a higher intake of live microbes was associated with better health measurements – improved blood pressure, better blood glucose and insulin levels, reduced inflammation, as well as smaller waist circumference and body mass index.
A fresh study has pinpointed that indulging in foods brimming with live microbes could have positive health perks, albeit subtle ones. Despite researchers being unable to confirm if these live dietary microorganisms are the direct heroes behind the health boons, the findings align with past studies suggesting that mingling with microorganisms can be a good thing for our well-being by bolstering our immune system,
Foods were classified into three groups based on their live microbe content. By analysing participants’ diets, scientific sleuths studied the relationship between consuming different foods — and the quantity eaten — with health indicators such as blood pressure and body weight.
Professor Colin Hill, hailing from University College Cork and serving as co-first author, shared: “Those foods with high levels of microbes (fermented foods, raw vegetables and fruits) are all nutritionally valuable parts of a healthy and diverse diet.
“These same foods could be providing an additional, hitherto unrecognised, health benefit due to live microbes themselves that enter the gut and interact with the host microbiome, immune system and even the enteric nervous system.”
However, experts advise exercising caution and call for more in-depth investigations to grasp the full scope of potential health gains from a microbe-laden diet.
“More research that extends these findings to other populations and research that uses study designs that permit stronger causal claims is needed, especially given the potential benefits that might be available by simply substitifying into the diet more foods that have safe live microbes,” stated co-lead author Professor Dan Tancredi, PhD, of University of California – Davis.
